The Other Side
by DesiredHOA01
Summary: "That's good. You haven't told anyone about our little secret now, have you?" Of course he hadn't, he wasn't that stupid. Rather than replying, he just shakes his head. "Good, now remember we need to keep it that way; no one knowing, not even your mother." It's true, not even his mom knows; but he couldn't dare imagine if what would happen to her if she did. Eddie-centric at first.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

Eddie cleaned the dust off his boots as he walked into his home. "Eddie! Is that you?" He heard his mother call.

"Yeah mom, it's me." He replied, shaking his jacket off and then hanging it up on the stand. His mom walked into the kitchen, greeting Eddie with some oatmeal raisin cookies- his favorite. "Where's Richard?" Ah yes, Richard- his stepdad of three years. "Richard? I'm not sure he's home yet." She responds, just as heavy footsteps enter the house. "Never mind." She mutters sheepishly, just as the six foot man walks up to greet her.

"Hello darling." He smiles, planting a kiss on her lips. "Eddie." He gave his stepdad a brief wave, before excusing himself to his room.

Upstairs, Eddie found himself being comforted with the band name Sick Puppies that he had acquired a liking for a few years ago. He began working on his biology paper that turned out to be due tomorrow. Yes, you could say that he was a procrastinator, but he always managed to get his work done. It was a cover. To make it seem like all he did at home was schoolwork. But whoever thought that was wrong. Way wrong.

Eddie had begun to act out around the age of twelve. When he finally managed to convince himself that it was his fault that his dad left. It was his fault that his mom was depressed for three years. That is until, she met Richard. Eddie remembered the day that his mom told him that she and Richard were getting married.

_A thirteen year old Eddie sat in his room, doodling useless sketches in his notepad. He found comfort in this, a way to get away from the crap in his life."Eddie?" His mother spoke softly, entering his room. He looked up from his pictures, sensing her serious tone. "I have something important to talk to you about." He gulps, as she takes a seat next to him on his bed._

_"Well? Go ahead."He says as she just sits there, searching for the right words._

_"You know that Richard and I have been dating for a long time now, and you know what happens after people date for a long time?"_

_"You finally realize that he's a horrible person and you decide to dump him?" He tries hopeful. She laughs, lacking humor._

_"Let's just say that I'm changing my name. Instead of being Charlotte Anne Miller, I'm going to be Charlotte Anne Price." Eddie's face grimaces._

_"Does that mean…"He trails, not able to finish his sentence._

_"Yes. We're getting married." Eddie simply nods, sending his mother off. But when she leaves, he takes his lamp from his bedside table, and smashes it into the wall. Then angles a punch at the same spot. He pulls his fist back, clutching it in pain. He lets the tears stream down his face, and slides his back against the wall. His mom kept asking him what was wrong with his hand the whole night._

* * *

But now, Eddie was older, wiser. He knew how to camouflage his emotions. He was rather good at it, really. But hey, what do you expect after years and years of practice. That's what Eddie considered it; practice.

After dinner that night, Charlotte offered to do dishes, leaving just Richard and Eddie. Usually when this happened, Eddie ended up in his room, video chatting with his best friend, Fabian. He lives in England now, but Fabian and Eddie used to be neighbors. But tonight, tonight was different. Eddie was shocked when Richard followed him up to his room, claiming that he wanted to 'talk.'

"So, Edison, how's life been?"

"Alright." Eddie mutters, not correcting him when he uses his full name.

"That's good. You haven't told anyone about our little secret now, have you?" Eddie stiffens at his question. Of course he hadn't, he wasn't that stupid. Rather than replying, he just shakes his head. "Good, now remember we need to keep it that way; no one knowing, not even your mother." It's true, not even his mom knows; and for that he felt incredibly guilty. But he couldn't dare imagine what would happen to her if she did know.

"I know." He whispers, causing Richard to grin.

"Well in that case, I have a new mission for you." Eddie gulped at his words. What more did he want him to do?

I bet you are highly confused right now. Richard, he has his own sort of system going; a system that only Eddie had seemed to figure out. You see, Richard had his own little gang. And when he and Charlotte got married, Richard inducted Eddie into that gang. At first Eddie thought that it was a load of crap; that is until Richard started to threaten Eddie's mother. And he was not letting anything happen to his only family. I mean, it was only stealing money, threatening and injuring people, right? How bad could it get? _Bad._

It was sort of like a mafia; sort of. Richard named it _The Society_, and each of the members were assigned tasks. Being the newcomer, Eddie was usually assined group tasks. But as time grew on, he grew independent with the work. And each time Eddie was assigned a new task, the more dangerous and risky it got. He never thought to disobey, because he was afraid of the consequences. It was his mom on the line, and if she wasn't around, he'd be stuck with him for awhile.

"A new mission, eh? I'm always up for a challenge." Eddie lies. That earns him a smile from his stepdad.

"Good, good. Now, this task will take a lot of effort, time, and patience." He begins to explain. He nods. "You have three months to go overseas, find a girl, and kill her. Eddie's jaw drops.

"What?! I can't, I won't!" Eddie shouts, flabbergasted.

"Yes, you will. But if not, I think we all know what will happen." He replies with a toothy grin, causing Eddie to shutter. "But first, you must convince your mother to let you go overseas. To England." Thoughts of his father run through the teenage boy's mind. Even though it was highly unlikely that they would end up in the same place.

* * *

Eddie skipped dinner that night, and ended up going to bed. After hours of tossing and turning, he just couldn't sleep. Knowing that he was to kill a most likely innocent girl, just because a cruel man commanded him too? But all he knew was that there was know way to get out of this.

Years ago, when Eddie was first inducted and assigned his first task, thought about going to the police. That as until one of his 'gang' members reminded him that if so, his mother would end up in a shelter. Realization struck Eddie for the first time, and it was then that he decided he would do this to keep both him and his mother safe. Or so he thought.

The next morning was when everything was set to go off. Richard eyed Eddie at the breakfast table, signaling him in. "Hey mom?" He asked, turning her attention away from the orange juice she was pouring to him.

"Yes sweetie?" Eddie gulped.

"I was wondering..." He couldn't pull himself to say it, he just couldn't. His mom looked at him peculiarly, waiting for him to continue. "I want to go live with dad." The woman spit her orange juice on the floor.

"What!?" She screeched. Richard just sat back, and Eddie flinched.

"I think it's time that I've met him. I mean, of course I've met him, but I don't rember anything." He covers.

"Your son's right, Charlotte. I think that he's old and mature enough to go on this trip. I'll even chip in for air fair." Richard suggests. Eddie picks at his eggs.

"Well... okay, alright. You can leave in a week. I will contact your father, givng him all the details." Panic floods Eddie's eyes, but Richard gives him a look that say he'll take care of everything.

The next week passes by quickly much to Eddie's dismay, and before he knows it, he's already on the boarding the plane to England. Liverpool, to be exact. His mother already bid him goodbye, which consisted of many hugs. Richard just nodded at the boy, a glare in his eyes. "Ladies and gentleman, please prepare for takeoff." The pilot's voice came over the intercom. Eddie sat down and adjusted his seatbelt, ready for takeoff. Takeoff to a journey that would change his life.

* * *

A/N: Okay! So, new story! Plus, I'm of hiatus! And guess what... Today I have officially been a member of fanfiction for a whole year! Yay! That's kinda why I wrote this, as a gift. The updates will be every Monday, so weekly, as something to help pass school by. (Or at least for me.) So please review, because I've worked so hard on this story!


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

I woke up just as the plane landed after a seven hour flight. I yawned, stretching out my arms. Apparently I was one of the last people to leave the plane. Opening the compartment above me, I grabbed one of my duffel bags, and slung it over my shoulder. From what I had been told, the rest of my luggage was already shipped over earlier in the week.

It was when I stepped out of the airport and into the cab was when I got the realization of what's going on. My lunatic stepfather was forcing me to lie to my own mother, fly to a completely different country and kill some girl who I didn't even know. This is unreal.

"So, where you off to lad?" Asked the cab driver.

"Erm, Horus International Boarding School." I answer uneasy. It gives me the shivers even when I say the name.

"Ah, yes. I drive many students there at the beginning of term. You're coming a bit late, aren't you?"

"Tell me about it." I mutter. He laughs.

"Alright, what house are you in?" I am confused until he tells me to check my paperwork.

"It says here... Anubis? Yeah, Anubis house." He grins when I answer him. "What?"

"Oh, you're going to love it there, believe me. I've known most of the kids from there since they first started attending this place." I laugh, trying to sound interested. "Alright, here we are." I nod, pulling some money out of my pocket. "Don't worry about." I smile with gratitude, as he helps me with my suitcases.

* * *

Before I know it, my feet are already planted on the concrete steps, and my fist has been raised to knock on the door. A middle-aged woman with tan skin and dark hair answers. "Why hello sweety!" She grins, wrapping me in a hug. I awkwardly stand there, waiting for her to release me. "Right, sorry. I'm Trudy, your housemother. I'm assuming that you're Edison?"

"Uh, yeah. But I go by Eddie." I explain. She nods, smiling warmly. "Where is everyone? I heard that I was living here with seven other students?"

"They're off at school, all of them should be back within the next hour or so. You'll be rooming with Fabian. He's nice, quiet. Mick, his old roomate, just moved away to Australia, so you'll be taking his place." She explains. I nod. "Why don't you unpack, then I'll call you down when it's time for supper? If you need anything, I"ll be in the kitchen." Trudy walks off, leaving me alone in my new room.

I get to thinking about my task. I'm assuming that this girl's family is rich, powerful, and a threat to Richard. She's probably some stuck up blonde, and will be too dumb to realize what's going on. At least if she's like that it wouldn't be too hard, would it?

My laptop chimes, signaling that I have a new email. I pull it out of my backpack, and open up the screen to read my new message from Richard.

_1 Attachment_

I see a picture of a girl on my screen, who I'm assuming is my target. Red hair, green eyes, way different than what I expected. She is walking happily with two of her friends, a boy and another girl. I scroll down to see the listed information.

_Name; Patricia Grace Williamson_

_Age; 16_

_Birthday; February 11, 1997_

_Relatives; Mother; Johanna Marie Williamson, Father; Michael John Williamson, and Twin Sister; Piper May Williamson._

The rest of everything listed is useless, such a interests and such. But I guess it will come in handy when I need converstaion starters. Just as I exit out of the email, a boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes enters the room; the same boy from the picture. I stand up awkwardly, clearing my throat. "Uh, hey. I'm Eddie."

"Fabian. Are you the new student?" He asks, quickly glancing at my bed.

"Yeah." I don't really know what more to say.

"Well, I'm going to go and study in the common room. I'll just leave you to-"

"Fabian! Come on!" I hear someone shout. Fabian waves, and leaves our room. I run a hand through my hair, which is already swept to the side.

* * *

The next hour passes quickly, and before I know it, Trudy is already calling for dinner. I'm not really sure what to say as all eyes are cast upon me, including Fabian's. "Okay everyone, as I said last week, we would be getting a new student. This is Eddie Miller." Trudy introduces. A few of the girls smile at me, and the boys look at me with anger.

"Are you taking Mick's place?" Asks a raven haired girl, dissapointment wiped across her face.

"Um, apparently." I answer, while the blonde next to her looks down with a upset face.

"Sorry I'm late Trudy, I was- who's the newbie?" She asks, and I recognize her almost immediately; Patricia, my new target.

"I'm Eddie." I introduce once more. "I guess I'm living here now."

"Right..." She nods, muttering something about 'another stupid boy in the house' and me being American.

"Don't mind her, she's always like... this." A girl with both brown hair and eyes explains. She was the third person in the picture, along withh Patricia and Fabian. I take a seat next to Fabian, and some guy with a massive head of hair. "Well, to start off; I'm Joy." She smiles.

"Patricia."

"Alfie."

"Jerome."

"Fabian."

"Nina."

"Amber."

"Mara." Everyone introduces. I smirk, and begin to dig into my dinner- spaghetti and meatballs.

Dinner isn't so bad, everyone breaks off into their own little talking groups. Fabian, Nina and Amber; Jerome, Alfie and Patricia, then Mara and Joy. I just sit there, picking at my food until someone decides to talk to me. "So, Eddie, why'd you decide to switch schools?" I turn and see that it was Nina, the only other American in the house, who was wondering.

My mind thinks rapidly to come up with an excuse, so I say the only thing I can think of: "Well, I got into a few fights, got expelled a few times..." I trail off. I mean, it wasn't a complete lie. I had gotten in plenty of fights before, and I had been expelled once. She nods uneasily, as Patricia decides to jump in on the questioning.

"So what about your parents? They were just okay with sending you overseas to a big bad boarding school, away from them? Seems fishy to me." She scoffs. That was what worried me.

"Well actually my dad lives here in the UK, and my mom was the one who suggested I come here." I mean yeah, of course it was hard talking about my dad. But for all I know, he could live all the way on the other side of the country. But I had just traveled to the other side of the world, so I had bigger things on my mind.

"So why don't you just go live with your dad then? I'm sure he would've been happy to see you after-" She begins to piss me off, so I decide to say something.

"Have you ever realize that you talk a lot? I should give you a nickname. How about blabs? Yacker? Oh yeah, Yacker, I like that." Confidence suddenly boosts upon me, and everyone looks between us two in shock.

"What did you just call me?"

"Pretty sure you heard me." I mumble. She then stands up, a pitcher of milk in her hand.

"Uh oh! Take cover! Patricia's getting riled!" Alfie ducks under the table.

"You cockroach." She sneers, as I look around and before I know it I am covered in milk. Patricia then swiftly exits the room, her heels clicking behind her.

"Yeah, she does that." Nina mutters, as an angry old man comes into the dining room.

"What is going on in here!?" He demands.

"Why nothing, Victor." Trudy calms him. 'Victor' turns to me, a points a finger.

"You! Who are you?"

"I'm Eddie, n-new here." I stutter.

"Ah, Edison. We've been expecting you." There's no way to make that sound not creepy. "Wash up, and come to my office so I can give you a tour and tell you the rules." I nod briefly before he exits the room.

Victor shows me the house, emphasizing that the cellar and attic are out of bounds. the girls rooms are upstairs, boys downstairs, and everywhere else I've pretty much already been. By the time we've finished with the tour, I'm instructed to be in my room by nine-thirty, and lights out are at ten. I go to sleep thinking about tomrrow; mission day one of ninety.

I wake up around midnight after not being able to sleep for hours. Careful not to wake Fabian, I walk across the room and out the door. But I am shocked when I see the sight of a girl crying to herself on the kitchen floor. _"Patricia?"_

* * *

A/N: Hey! What's up? It's 6:30 am here and I'm getting ready to go to school, it's picture day :/ thanks for all the reviews! You guys seem to love it so far!


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

_"Patricia?" _It takes her a few moments recognize me, but when she does it turns worse.

"Go away!" She shouts. I look around to make sure that no one is watching, careful to be quiet. Patricia stands up, turning around so I can't see her. The only light is cast from the moon, shining through the window. "Didn't hear me? Go away!" She's not really crying anymore, just wiping her tears from her face. Now she's more angry, and shows a hint of embarrassment, than upset. Not wanting to upset her more, I quickly make my way out of the kitchen, and back to my room. Chills run down my spine as I tuck myself into bed.

The next morning at breakfast, Patricia seems to avoid eye contact with me. I even tried talking to her, but I think we all know how that would go. I eat some of my waffles, but find myself picking again as the first day of school nerves kick in. It just made it worse that I was the new kid.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't realize everyone had already left for school, leaving me in the dust. Trudy told me to just follow them, considering there was at least a few in every single one of my classes. That's one of the reasons I was hoping to make friends with them; I didn't need them hating me. I had to stop to remind myself that I wasn't here to make friends; I was here on a mission.

* * *

School was…interesting. I have to take drama and French, even though I was already fluent in the language; one of the perks of being in The Society. My other classes are like normal: English, math, history, etc. I had Patricia in five out of seven of my classes, so I took the advantage of watching her. She didn't seem too thrilled in class, usually doodling in a notebook, or whispering to the person next to her. I smirked when I realized how much she and I related. Now I just needed her to realize that…

i

Walking home, I spotted Patricia alone in front of me. "Hey! Patricia?" I called. She chose to ignore me, and instead started walking faster. I groaned, and quickly jogged up to her side. "Not going to talk to me? Why do I call you Yacker again?"

"I don't know, why do you?" She muttered, kicking the dirt with her musty combat boots.

"Are you always like this?" I asked curiously.

"Like what?" She questioned back. I could tell that she was happy I hadn't pulled up last night's 'incident.'

"Quiet? Secretive?"

"I'm not like that once you get to know me." She mumbled.

"So let me." That was what it took for her to finally look up from the ground. She looked at me like I was ridiculous.

"You just moved here, I don't even know you."

"But you could." I offered. She just shook her head, and walked into the house. I sighed, feeling defeated. I could tell that it was going to take a lot more than I thought.

After school, I took the liberty into researching if I could find out anything about Patricia. No results came up. Apparently she's not on any social media sights or anything. Joy told me she finds them stupid and repulsive.

During dinner I thought up strategies of trying to talk to Patricia. My situation was difficult. I didn't want to get too attached to her, because I would feel even more guilty about killing her. But I can't find out _how_ to kill her without talking to her, like, a lot. May not make any sense to you, but in my head everything _almost _makes sense. Almost.

"Hey Fabian?" I asked my roommate as he walked in the room.

"Yeah?"

"What do you know about Patricia?" He gave me a confused look.

"Why, are you planning on asking her out or something?" My eyes widen at his accusation.

"What!? No, no... I've only known her for a few days, I'm just a bit worried about her. She seems like she's been upset the whole time I've got here."

"Well, Trixie's like a sister to me, and I've known her since we were around eleven or twelve. She's gone through a lot in her life from what she's told me, and I'm not going to be the one to tell you. You need to go ask her if you're concerned." He replied a bit too forcefully. I sat back down on my bed, sighing, and checked my email: One message from Richard.

_Just letting you know I do have people watching you. So I highly suggest not pulling anything stupid, because you will regret it –R_

I gulped at the message, closing the lid of my computer. I thought about what Fabian had said, and groaned. This was no easy task.

* * *

The next morning I was assigned to go over early so I was able to meet the principal. I knocked o the large wooden door, and was invited in with a "Come!" He was sitting at his desk, a teacup placed in front of him. "Ah, Edison. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Mr. Sweet. I apologize for not meeting you earlier; I had… things to attend to." I nodded briefly, and the name 'Sweet' seemed oddly familiar to me, but I ignored it.

"Well I've met some of my housemates, they all seem…nice?" I offered. He chuckled.

"Oh yes, why they're a creative bunch." I smiled. "Well you'd better head off to class; I'll see you in history." I nodded as he sends me off. I take a seat next to Fabian in drama, plopping down on one of the colorful couches. Ms. Valentine started to lecture about how the so-called 'Shakespeare' era was important and such. I'm not really into plays or whatever, so it all seemed like nonsense to me.

In history, I would catch Mr. Sweet occasionally glancing at me, and it was scaring me a little. I mean, I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, you know except for coming here and convicting murder. I thought about how I was fitting in with everybody. At lunch I sat with Fabian, Nina, Amber, and Alfie. They had informed me that Patricia usually sat with them at lunch, and were curious as to why she wasn't here. I took that into consideration about her, and decided I would try once more after school to talk to her.

Once again I find myself walking home with Patricia. She doesn't seem as quiet as yesterday, mumbling answers and even laughing a bit. "So you wanna hang out sometime?" I ask. She stops.

"Like as a date?" She questions.

"No! No, just as friends. I'm new here, you're quiet…" I trail, causing her to laugh again. "Let's drop off our stuff, change, and then we'll go find something to do."

"Right now?" She chokes on the apple she's taken a bite out of.

"Well yeah, there's no time to lose." I say, and that was probably the first honest thing I had said since I had gotten here.

* * *

A/N: Casually just laying in bed here, posting another chapter. :) review?


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

After changing out of our uniforms, Patricia and I let Trudy know that we'd be gone for a while. Patricia didn't seem open to the idea at first, but she eventually warmed up. "So, you wanna play twenty questions?" I offered as we sat down in the coffee shop.

"Uh, sure. I don't really know how to play though." I looked at her in disbelief until I started off the game.

"Alright, favorite color?"

"Dark purple." She answered. I looked to her for a question in response. "What?"

"You know what, never mind. I'll just question you. You suck at this game." I teased. She rolled her eyes and scoffed. I looked around the café. It wasn't buzzing with excitement, just a few people with laptops and books.

"Fine. What state in America are you from?"

"Massachusetts. Around the Boston area."

"And you don't have an accent?"

"That's Jersey." I laughed. She took a sip from her hot chocolate, whipped cream mustering her upper lip. She quickly wipes it away with an embarrassed look on her face. Her phone starts ringing, and I immediately recognize the ringtone: Odd One by Sick Puppies. She clicks ignore, claiming that Alfie was calling her for something stupid. "You like Sick Puppies?" She looks at me in shock.

"No way could someone like you have such a good taste in music." She narrowed her eyes at me. "What's your favorite song?"

"Connect. Yours?"

"You heard my ringtone." I smirk. I never thought that I would find someone with the same taste in music. "Well you did."

"Did I say that out loud?" I ask curiously. She nods. Now it's my turn to blush. "Why don't we head back? Trudy only gave us an hour to be out." She grabs her bag, her auburn curls bouncing on her shoulders.

The walk from the coffee shop was only about five minutes, so we got back just in time. Patricia thanked me for the drink, and then went upstairs to her room. I went to mine, flopping down on my bed before noticing that Alfie and Jerome were staring over me. "Why are they here?" I asked Fabian, who seemed to be looking at gifts for Nina. He just shrugged, and turned back to his computer.

"How was your date with Trixie?" Jerome teased. I rolled my eyes.

"It wasn't a date." I answer.

"Oh really? You two went to get coffee, alone, and she came back smiling. Sounds like a date to me." I turned to Alfie, who was looking at me accusingly.

"Okay, dude. It wasn't a date. Go ask her yourself. Besides, you've known her way longer than I have, and I can already tell that she isn't the type of person to go on a date with someone after just meeting them." I replied smoothly. Before they can say anything else, they walk out of the room speechless. I smile at their reaction.

"Hey Eddie? What kind of gift do you think Nina would like; a necklace or a bracelet?" He asks, showing me images of both.

"Well, considering I haven't even known her for a week yet, and you're her boyfriend; that's your job to figure out." He frowns at me, as I plug my headphones into my iPhone. I tapped my fingers to the melody. _Odd one you're never alone..._

* * *

The next week passes by quickly. Patricia seems to be opening up more to me, not too much, but it's still a work in progress. Richard still sends me threatening emails, claiming that I'd better hurry up with the job. I reminded him that I still had about two and a half months, but he said the faster we get this done the better.

Mr. Sweet had still been acting weird around me, and people were starting to notice. Mara asked me once or twice if something was going on, and I replied with a simple answer saying that this had been going on for a while now, him watching me, but nothing that I was aware of was happening. Apparently the rest of the house calls him 'Sweetie,' and I had adapted to that. There was something weird about him, like he was keeping a secret; and I wanted to know what.

I usually ended up walking home from school with Patricia, but today she said that she was running late. I offered to wait for her, but she told me to go ahead. Before I know it, I'm walking back to the house alone, watching the clouds float across the sky. I begin making pictures out of them when I feel a slap across my head. "Ow!" I turned to see Patricia giggling, a notebook in her hand. I give her an 'are you serious' look, rubbing the spot she hit. "What was that for?"

"For being a cockroach."

"Oh really? Well you're finally starting to live up to your name, Yacker." She rolled her eyes.

"So what's up with Sweetie? He's been watching you like a hawk." She states.

"So you've noticed too, hmm. I wanna know what's up with him." I mutter. She shrugs. My phone starts ringing, and I pull it out of my pocket._ Richard. _For some stupid reason, I decide to pick up the phone.

"Edison, how's your task going. My spy has to take a night off." I try to come up with something to say, and cautiously answer:

"England? Oh yeah, it's great. Friends? Oh yeah, I've made lots. I'm even walking with one of them right now, her name is Patricia." I put emphasis on the last part.

"Already? Wow, you're making fast progress, Miller. I'm afraid that my spy has gotten…injured. So you'll have to keep me updated on the mission." He hung up, and Patricia looked towards me questioningly.

"My mom. I haven't talked to her since I've left." Technically, it wasn't a lie. She sent me an email, I just didn't reply.

"Ah. Do you miss her?" I nod, frowning.

"If it makes you feel better, I haven't seen my parents the beginning of term." She offers.

"Well yeah, but I bet your parents don't have another person in their life who they seem to prioritize more than you."

"I know exactly how you feel." She murmurs. "My sister, Piper. We're identical twins. According to every single person I've met, she's better than me. I mean, she gets to go to some fancy music school, and I'm stuck here." I felt even worse for the girl, but then I felt a pain go down my spine, pulling me out of my thoughts. Richard sends them when I get distracted. It was right then and there that I decided that everything was going to go down tonight. I scolded myself for getting too close to this girl, like I had promised not too. This would be the day that Patricia Williamson dies.


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

I ended up writing and placing a note on Patricia's bed, telling her to meet me in the kitchen at midnight. At first I wasn't sure whether or not to put my name on the note, but in the end I decided on not. But I think she would guess pretty quick who the note was from.

I went into my room, and careful not to make too much noise, I grabbed a stash of weapons. I also stashed a knockout gas, because knowing me, that's probably what I would resort to.

I was jittering when Fabian walked in, looking at me oddly. "Hey, you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, just fine." I answer, as he chuckles slightly.

"Are you sure?"

"Not really…" I mumble. I send Richard a text telling him that I will be attempting the task tonight. He never replies, but I don't think it would help me much if I did either.

My alarm sounds at quarter to twelve, but it doesn't do much good considering I'm already awake. I tiptoe out of the room, careful not to wake Fabian, and shut the door. I enter the kitchen to see Patricia, sitting on the counter, swinging her legs. Her hair is tied up away from her face, and she has not a single drop of makeup on. She spots me, and smirks. "Of course it's you that wrote the letter." She rolls her eyes, and I smirk.

"Who would you think it was? Your boyfriend?" I tease.

"Oh no, I don't have a boyfriend." She assures me. I grin. I try my best to keep up the act.

"Good to know, good to know. So, you wanna go for a walk?" She shoots me a disturbed look.

"Are you insane? It's midnight!" She yells, keeping her tone down.

"Just around campus or something. Tell you what- I'll get some drinks from the fridge, you get food, and we have a midnight picnic." I plead in my head, hoping that she will agree.

"If I say yes, will you let me go back to sleep after?" I give her a curt nod, as she sighs, grasping some food from the cabinet. "Meet me outside when you're done, Edison." I catch the glint in her eye, as she walks out the back way. I grab two bottles of soda, and carefully pour some of the drug into Patricia's drink. There was no way I could give it to her as gas. My hand was shaking, but I managed to finish butting the liquid into a club soda. I took a deep breath, checked my backpack was in order, and then headed out. "Took you long enough."

"Well sorry, couldn't decide on drinks." I carefully hand her the drink, making sure it's the right one. She looks at me curiously as I watch her drink, my heart beating out of my chest.

"Eddie… I don't feel so-" And with that, she's passed out. I exhaled deeply, and pulled my backpack from my back. I was deciding between drugging her, or brutally murdering her. But then, with one look at her face; I couldn't do it, I just couldn't. Her locks were fanned across her face, and she just looked so darn peaceful. Sighing, I put my weapons away in a secret compartment in my bag. I picked Patricia up, and carried her as fast as I could to the house. I was going to have to pull off one hell of an act.

"Trudy!" I shouted, most likely waking the whole house up. "Trudy!"

"Eddie? What are you doing up at this time of night? With Patricia…"

"We were having a midnight picnic, and she told she didn't feel good then she just passed out." I paced, setting Patricia down on the couch. Soon enough, members from the rest of the house were crowding in the common room.

"What's wrong with Trixie?"

"Patricia! Is she okay?" These were the questions heard throughout the room. We could hear the sounds of sirens in the background. I ran a hand through my hair.

"What have I done?" I muttered to myself.

* * *

At the hospital the next morning, I spot Fabian eyeing me with a glare. I try my best not to look at him, just focus on hiding the truth. "Alright sweeties, the doctors said that someone had poisoned something Patricia drank or ate, but it was just temporary KO gas, so she's awake." Everyone smiles with relief. "Try not to startle her; she's a bit fragile right now." We nod, and begin to decide who should go and visit her. Joy and Fabian are decided on, then Nina and Amber. Basically, I was last.

Later, when we were still in the hospital, Fabian sits down in the chair next to me. "Alright listen Eddie; I know it was you who drugged Patricia. Don't try to argue, it's not worth it. I highly suggest not trying anything else, because I will have my eye on you." He threatens, and walks away. I gulp. Why does he care so much?

I tried my best to avoid both Fabian and Patricia all day, until she is released from the hospital. While everyone celebrates, I sit in my room alone, and listen to music on my laptop. Fabian enters, glances at me, and pulls a chair up beside my bed.

"I didn't do it." I lie. He stares at me oddly. "I may be new here, from another country, and it may all sound suspicious, but come on Fabian! You're smart enough to know how ridiculous that sounds!" He sighs.

"Fine; I believe you. But that doesn't mean for a second that I won't have my eye on you." I nod, thankful to god that Fabian believes me. But now I'm just going to have to be ten times more careful.

Ever since the incident, I haven't hung around Patricia too much, and Fabian seemed happy about that. He's been watching both Patricia and I like a hawk. Unfortunately, I had to report to Richard that the mission had been a fail. He was a bit angry, but we've still got two months. Mr. Sweet was still acting weird, but not as bad as it used to be.

I came here in the beginning of October, and now November was dawning on us. So, I had until the end of the year to get done with the task. Richard told me that he was figuring out some way so that Patricia would be stuck at Anubis through the holidays. I just assumed that meant I would be too.

Lately, I've been thinking about my mom. I really haven't talked to her, because I've been afraid of what Richard would do. He hasn't seemed to be threatening me a whole lot, or my mom as far as I'm aware, but I know he will when the deadline nears.

My phone rings, and I grin once I see who it is. "Hey mom."

"Eddie! _HELP_!"

* * *

A/N: Umm, talk about cliffy! Haha sorry that this is the only thing I've been updating, I've been working more with fictionpress, and then practicing for my concerts. Fun...

I also feel like I don't talk to you guys as much as I should, how do you feel? Like it says in my profile, PM me as much as you guys want! I absolutely love talking to all of you! I think that that on the weekends sometime that I'll put in my next update an info thing about what times you guys can best contact me. Maybe I can have like a Q&A thing? Lol I'm probably not that popular... Well I posted this chapter beore I left for school, and I get home like 8 hours after that, so... do the math?

Review?


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

"Eddie! HELP!" My mom yells through the phone.

"Mom!? Hello?" I begin to panic, and the line immediately drops dead. I run a hand through my hair, and feel hot tears well up in my eyes. I try at least ten times calling back, but it just rings out. I throw my phone at the wall, smashing it into pieces. I let my back slide down the wall, and place my forehead in my palms.

"Hey, Eddie I was wondering if-" Patricia starts, entering my room without knocking. "Eddie? What's going on?" It was right then and there, in that moment, that I wanted to tell her about my mom, and Richard, and the real reason why I had been sent to this place, but I knew that I would get both of us, and my mom, if she wasn't already, dead.

"Nothing, nothing's going on. I've just been homesick." I lied. She looked at me.

"Alright, listen. I can tell that you don't get homesick. I'm not asking you to tell me what's wrong, I respect you enough to not, but if anything is seriously wrong, you need to go to Trudy or someone, got it?" And with that, she was gone. I knew she was right, but I couldn't tell an adult. Not sure of what else to do, I dialed Richard up.

"Hello? Edison?"

"Don't play games with me, asshole. I want to know what the hell you did to my mom. Don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about, because-"

"Slow down! I'm not going to act, because I don't know what the hell you are talking about!" I took a deep breath, and calmed down.

"I got a call from my mom, and it sounded like she was being tortured. I tried to talk to her, but the line went dead." By his lack of words, I could tell that he was thinking.

"Alright, let me research and I'll get back to you. But you'll have to give me a bit." I nod, as he hangs up. I pound my fist on the wall, and it echoes throughout the house. I decide on going to sleep, before I give myself a heart attack from all the stress.

I wake up around two in the morning to the sound of my phone; a new text from Richard.

_Looks like we've got a new player in our games_

I gulp, and feel a shiver run down my spine. I glanced over at Fabian, who was passed out cold; figures. I tried to go back to sleep, but I just couldn't. I think before I had to wake up, I got maybe a grand total of ten minutes of sleep.

* * *

At breakfast, I am exhausted, and I think a few people have noticed. Patricia eyes me cautiously, but not daring enough to say anything. "I think that I'm going to head over early." I say, standing up after not being able to touch my breakfast. Patricia looks down guiltily, and I immediately feel bad. It wasn't her fault; she was only the target of this whole mission.

I end up trudging my way to school, and I feel Patricia following me, but I decide to ignore it. My head hangs low, as I'm sure it will the rest of the day. Classes are a snore, and Mr. Sweet, as sure the rest of the teachers do, notice my recent behavior. Mrs. Valentine begins to question me, but I simply turn her down and manage to convince her that I'm just tired.

Fabian decides to leave me alone for once, and I'm actually grateful. He eyes me a few times, but other than that; it's like he's been avoiding me. But right now, I'm not really one to complain.

I enter my room, sighing, and pulling my bag over my shoulder, and letting it fall to the ground beside my bed. Just as I'm about to plop down, I notice a bright red sticky note contrasting amongst my comforter.

_Thought you could maybe use some cheering up._

And with the note, is a plate of three oatmeal raisin cookies, stacked perfectly. I look around, checking to see if this is a prank or not, and slowly took a bite of one: still warm. The sensation of home fills my mouth, clearing up the congestion that is held in my nose. This was a little bit of comfort that I needed in that moment, and was glad that I received it.

At dinner I'm not very hungry, considering my little snack before. Patricia keeps glancing at me awkwardly, and I gaze at her. _What_? I mouth. She shakes her head, turning back to her food. Joy seems to notice, and asks her what's up, but she just shrugs and ignores her. There are way too many weird people in England…

After dinner, I walk back, but stop Jerome. I glance at Fabian at Patricia talking, her sending him a soft smile. "Hey, Jerry. Is there something going on between Patricia and Fabian or something?" He stifles a laugh, and shakes his head.

"Please! Fabian only has eyes for Nina! And besides, I think we all know Fabian doesn't have the nerve to cheat. Plus; Fabian's usually afraid of her." He pats me on the back reassuringly, and struts to his room. By the way I hear laughter from next door, I assume that Jerome is telling Alfie about what just happened.

My phones chimes in the middle of the night, and I groan. It's most likely only about nine at night in America, but Richard seems to have forgotten that I need my sleep as well.

_You're running out of time. I've been gracious; you have a little over a month. _

I gulp, and somehow pull my trembling fingers to reply:

_I just need more time; can I get an extra 2 months? _

I wince as my finger presses the send button, and here the swoosh, signaling that its sent.

I somehow manage to sleep a little better than the previous night, minus the about-to-be threats from my stepdad. I see that Fabian has already left, and pull myself out of bed.

School is boring as usual, and Mr. Sweet seems to grin at my positive attitude, much compared to yesterday's. I still couldn't pin point why he seemed so familiar to me.

I end up getting called down to his office after school that day, him claiming he has something important to tell me. I breakaway from my house after last class, and head to where he is. Before so knock, I trail my hand down the crease in the door, and my finger stops at the sign:

_Eric Sweet_

_Headmaster_

My eyes grow wide, and I knock furiously on his door. I don't even wait for a response, and slam it open. "You!" I accuse. "You're my father!" I shout, as I feel anger and adrenaline rush throughout my body.

"Edison-"

"No, don't. You abandoned me, and mom! Now were both stuck with some half-ass husband, whom I can't stand."

"Please Edison, just let me-"

"Talk? What happened when I tried to talk to you years ago? When I actually had the opportunity to call you? You never answered. I wrote to you, and yet nothing. I always thought that I was being so selfish, collecting sympathy from my friends after you left. But now, this is even worse." I ran a hand through my hair, as he just sat there, too dumbstruck to even speak a word.

"Now Edison-" he tried to keep a calm matter, but I cut him off.

"God dammit! My name is Eddie, I do not want to hear you say the word 'Edison' ever in your life again, got it?" I snap, and with that, I've left his office.


	7. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6 _

I practically ran back to the house, anxiety washing over me. I ignored Trudy's calls as I ran in, and charged to my room. Fabian got the sense to leave, and I sat on the floor, head and back resting against the wall.

There is a faint knock at my door, and in comes Patricia. I notice how the sunlight makes her hair look more chestnut, and how her makeup brings out the gold flecks in her eyes. She sends me a sympathetic smile. "Trudy told me you seemed upset, what's up?" I shrugged, not really wanting to answer. She ran a finger through my hair, moving my bangs out of my face.

"Is this your way of charming me?" I ask curiously. She chuckles.

"Only if you want it to be, Slimeball."

"Oh, Slimeball now? Changing it up are we Yacker?" She laughs, shaking her head.

"Seems like you haven't." I roll my eyes.

"My dad." I state.

"What?"

"My dad. Mr. Sweet is my dad." He jaw drops, her mouth hanging open.

"And you didn't know?" I shake my head. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, not really your fault." I sigh. She rolls her eyes, and grabs my hand, pulling me up. "Where are we going?"

"Trudy said she wants us in the common room." I nod, following her.

The rest of the house is already gathered, talking amongst themselves. Patricia and I plop down on the couch, and I pull my hand away noticing they were still intertwined. I feel my cheeks heat up, and so do hers, as Victor enters.

"I bet all you miscreants are wondering why you're here. This will not take long, as I'm sure you all have... Duties to attend to. There will now be a security system placed on the house, in light of recent events." Everyone glances at Patricia, who slides down in her seat. "The alarm will sound when any windows or doors are opened between ten o'clock and seven in the morning." He explains, as everyone seems pretty chill with it.

Patricia and I end up hanging out once again, taking a walk around town. She said that she has to show me every British custom, convinced that I would do the same if we were in America.

She drags me into a music shop, full of CD's and old records. She picks up a Beatles record, and looks at me questioningly. We both shakes our heads, and go to the CD section.

We walk out of the store with two new Connect albums, even though she claims we already both have them on our phones.

* * *

I find out later that day that Richard approved me for two more months here in England. That would mean I hate until about the end of February.

The holidays roll around sooner than expected, and Patricia comes to me one day with a disappointed look on her face, explaining that her parents wouldn't be able to pull her out for the holidays. I gulped, knowing that the plan was going on track exactly. She seems to feel better though once I assure her that she wouldn't be alone, and I would be staying with her.

I help Fabian pack his trunks, and as he leaves to go grab his toothbrush, I notice his laptop screen lit up. Normally I don't like to eavesdrop, but something just washed over me. I scroll to see what file he has loaded and gasp when I see:

_The Price Society_

_Founder: Richard Allen Price_

_Members: Edison Miller, Rufus Zeno, Vera Devinish, John Walters_

There are some other names and information listed, but Fabian will be back any minute so I quickly open the page he was on before, and go back to my own bed. Why does he have that? How does he know about everything? No wonder he's been watching me...

Richard ended up emailing me a file on Fabian, after he left of course. I looked through it.

_Name: Fabian Lewis Rutter _

_Gender: Male_

_Birthday: August 21, 1995 _

_Family: Anna Lynn Rutter-Williamson; Jacob Brad Rutter (father, deceased); Noah Jacob Rutter (brother, 12); Olivia Katherine Rutter (sister, 12); Michael John Williamson (stepfather); Patricia Williamson (stepsister); Piper Williamson (stepsister) _

My jaw drops. Patricia is Fabian's stepsister? I didn't see that coming. Apparently Richard have me a full profile on Fabian, and not Patricia. And his dad is dead? That means so is Patricia's mom. I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone about this, no. Fabian would report me, and it sounded like Patricia knew none of anything about The Society. That means Fabian's family must be in a group of their own...

I was stressing out so much, I could literally feel like my head is about to explode. I remember to control myself, and I do, also remembering that its just Patricia and I here. I walk out of my room, and peeked around the corner. I find Patricia in her pajamas, drinking hot chocolate, sitting on the couch. I smirk at how relaxed she looks. Not a single drop of makeup, either.

I carefully walked over to where the doors were, and opened them. She smiled softly when she saw me, and scooted over on the couch. "Hey Yacker."

"Hey weasel." She coughed. I frowned in her direction.

"Are you sick?" She shrugged, sneezing. I laughed, rolling my eyes. I gave her some meds, and made sure she was covered up with blankets so she could stay warm. She smiled at my effort, as we sat down and watched old Christmas movies. We also ended up playing truth or dare, twenty questions, and many other games.

She told me that usually for Christmas her parents and her sister would all sit home in the morning, than travel around to her family the rest of the day. I nodded, telling her that I just stayed at home all day. Both of us were tired, her being sick, and me, helping her. Let's just say that we fell asleep with her head on my shoulder.


	8. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. Trudy had made batches of Patricia and I's favorite sweets. We mostly hung out over the past few days. To be honest, I completely forgot about everything else. The mission, The Society, my mom.

Richard had informed me that he was getting closer to finding out information, but he said he can't tell me anything until it's final. Since then, I've calmed down a bit, and focused on my mission. Patricia and I seem to be getting closer, and it's good for the mission, but not for making friends with her.

I woke up the next morning, and smiled remembering the thought of Christmas. I slowly lift myself out of bed, and walk over to my window, peeking out at the snowflakes falling slowly from the sky. I smile, and pull on some clothes, then walk into the living room.

I see that Patricia is already on the couch, only looking about half awake. I chuckle, tiptoeing over to her carefully. She notices me and gives me an odd look. "Trudy's made us some chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and basically as whole breakfast buffet." I grin, feeling my eyes light up. I turn my head and see all the food on the table, and I can already feel my mouth watering.

"Happy Christmas everyone!" Trudy calls, entering the kitchen. Apparently Victor has gone out of town for the holidays, which is fine by far with me.

I load my plate with pancakes, muffins, and a bunch of other tasty stuff. I see that Patricia has worked up an appetite as well, hers filled with scones, eggs, and a few pancakes as well. She smirks at me as we both begin to eat, cleaning our plates. "Now, dearies, I have presents for you both." I give a questioning look, while Patricia just smiles warmly, so I decide to go along with it. She hands Patricia her gift first, and I watch closely to see what she unwraps.

In a big, square box, Patricia pulls out some sort of album. She immediately grins, and covers her mouth with her hand. "What is it?"

"It's a picture album, of her whole time at Anubis since she's arrived here when she was eleven." Trudy explains, and I nod as Patricia looks through it completely and utterly mesmerized. I smile at how happy she looks, and Trudy taps my shoulder, handing me something. I turn, and see that it is a new, really expensive pair of headphones that I've been looking at. I thank her by giving her a hug. Patricia does the same.

I ask Patricia if I can look through her present, and she nods, making more hot chocolate. I swear she has an obsession…

I take the book in my hands, running my fingers across the black velvet top. On the front cover is a picture of what I'm assuming is the rest of the house, minus Nina and me, years ago. I also see some blonde guy I don't recognize, and guess that he must be Mick. I turn to the first page, and see that it is a picture of Alfie, blowing out birthday candles on a cake, and just random pictures of everyone. I smile so wide at this, just memories of everyone. I could see how Patricia's hair hadn't been so red, instead a chestnut color.

"See something you like?" She asks, observing me as I look through.

"Just admiring how cute used to be, Yacker." She shoots me a death glare, and hands me a candy cane. I take it gratefully, while she stirs hers in her drink. I watch her, she seems so focused. "Hey, Yacker? Can I ask you something?" She nods, sending me a curious look.

"I guess…"

"Is your mom…dead?" She looks up at me, then back down in her lap. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want; I understand." She sighs.

"It's fine. And yes; she is."

"Can I ask how she-"

"Eddie, I'm sorry, but I'm really not ready to tell you about things like that, okay? Don't take it personally or anything." I nod, as a stray tear runs down her cheek. If I'm being honest, it scared me to see Patricia like this. So upset, broken.

"Oh, c'mere." I say, pulling her into a hug. She quickly wrapped her arms around me, and laid her chin on my shoulder. After a few moments, she pulled away.

"Thanks, Eddie. Y'know, for listening."

"Anytime Yacker, anytime."

* * *

Patricia seemed fine after earlier, but she seemed to not talk to me as much. I could tell that she wasn't used to letting down their walls. I looked around to see all of the decorations Trudy had hung up; a tree, ornaments, holly and mistletoe. Cliché, yet still festive.

I saw Patricia in the kitchen, and decided to go talk to her. Just as I was about to walk through the door frame, she did the same. "Oh! Um, sorry." She mumbles. Her face turns red, and I am confused until she points her finger up. Hanging right above the two of us, is mistletoe. I shoot her a questioning look, and she briefly nods. We lean in, and our lips our just inches apart, until she pull away. "Eddie, look I'm sorry, I just can't." And with that, she's gone. I frown, running a hand through my hair. For some reason, the conflict in my mind ends up telling me to go and follow her.

I find Patricia, on her bed, headphones covering her ears. I can hear the music playing from the loudness in volume, and smile a bit. She looks over, and once she sees me, she sighs. I frown. She removes her headphones, and stares at the floor. "She was murdered."

"What?" I ask, confused.

"My mom. She was kidnapped, then murdered." My eyes widen, and my train of thought immediately runs to Richard. Could he be the one who killed her? He did say that he and Patricia's dad were enemies…

"I-I'm sorry." I stutter, choked up.

"No, it's fine. Not like it was your fault or anything, right?"

"Right… Well, I'd better be going." I say, as I begin to walk out the door.

"Eddie?"

"Hmm?" And the next thing I know, she has me pressed against the door, her lips against mine.


	9. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

I was taken a bit by shock, of course. I mean, who wouldn't be? But I still found myself kissing back. This was pretty much a buildup of all the romantic tension that has been between us the past few months. She pulls away, and looks at me, awaiting my reaction. I smile, while she blushes, and kiss the top of her head. "Merry Christmas, Yacker." I say, causing her to grin. I take her hand in mine, as we head down the stairs.

Trudy beams at us as we arrive, and shoots me a knowingly gaze. Everything felt perfect, in that moment. But of course I knew that this moment wouldn't last forever. As far as I'm aware, it won't last even close to long. But I figured that I'd better savor this moment while it lasted. "You okay? "Asks Patricia.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking." She nods. "Patricia-" I cut myself off this time, and she stares at me curiously. If I told her now, what would happen? She would be left in shock, and I would be arrested? Or she would call me some idiot trying to pull a fast one. "What are we doing for New Years?"

* * *

New Years comes faster than expected, and the rest of the housemates arrive the day before. Patricia explained to me that there's some big party up at the school. Apparently it's semi-formal, which I guess I'll have to deal with.

Both of us (Patricia and I) have agreed to take things slow, even though we've been caught guiltily spending all day together. I wasn't quite sure if Fabian knew or not, but he was still frightening me. I mean, I now understood why he was so protective. But that just made my position more difficult.

The night of the party, all of us in Anubis find ourselves getting ready for the party, especially the girls. I decide on a simple blue shirt, black tie, and my leather jacket.

I wait for Patricia at the bottom of the stairs, and she is the last to walk down among the girls. I stare in awe, as she comes into my view. Her hair isn't as curly, but more wavy, and is pinned half-up. She wore a deep purple dress, and a leather jacket, much like my own. "Hey." She says as she links her arm through mine, and Trudy comes in to take a picture.

We arrive, and music is playing loudly through the speakers. I turn to Patricia, who looks seemingly bored, and tap her shoulder. "Want to dance?" I ask.

"I don't dance." She huffs. I eye her curiously, and I took her hand, leading her to the dance floor. (Ignoring her cries against it.)

"I guess that means I'll just have to change your mind then." I grin, as we begin to dance along. I twirl her under my arm, ignoring Fabian's glares and Jerome and Alfie's smirks.

Later, as the music fades, we all turn to a huge projection screen and see that the countdown to 2014 is on there. Everyone is still, and begins counting.

_10_

My mom, how has she been? I now realize at how horrible of a son I've been to her.

_9_

Speaking of family, my dad? I haven't actually talked to him ever since I found out, even in class.

_8_

I thought about how one of each Fabian and Patricia's parents were dead, and how much they had probably been through.

_7_

Then there was The Society. How Richard forced me to become a member, and how I was assigned ridiculously dangerous tasks all the time.

_6_

The Rutter Society? I had a feeling that this whole thing will end up going down in war.

_5_

I now know that there is not a single way I can kill Patricia. I've fallen for her, _hard_.Plus, I don't think I could have done it even if we weren't as close as we are now.

_4_

This meant that I was going to have to stand up to Richard. And what did that mean? That meant everyone I cared about would end up dying.

_3_

It also meant that he would be the one killing Patricia off, not me. He would probably think that I'm just using her to get closer. But I wasn't, right?

_2_

I thought about everything; all the crap that I had been through in my life. With Richard, The Society, my parents.

_1_

And now I had officially brought myself to the conclusion that _2014,_ was the year that everything would change; because I would make it.

_0._

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Was shouted across the room, once the clock struck midnight, and Patricia pulled me in for a kiss. I accepted gratefully, and when we pulled away, watched the evening of celebration.

When Patricia and I walk home, a few yards behind the rest of the house, we laugh at memories of the night, and sneak in few kisses along the way. And when it's time for bed, she kisses my cheek gratefully, mutters an 'I had fun,' and is off to her room.

* * *

I wake up the next morning feeling refreshed at the start of a new year, and remember the promises I made myself last night. That I was going to clean up the mess that is my life, and try to escape into my new one.

Technically, we are still on break, so we are allowed to do whatever. I am conflicted of which part of my mess to start with, and begin with the easiest- my dad.

Somehow, Patricia manages to convince me to talk to him. I mean, of course I was going to; after some basic thoughts of what to say and such. But before I know it, I'm walking along the snowy trail to the main building, awaiting mess number one.

I knock subtly at his door, and remember everything that happened last time I was in this position. It all starts coming back to me; the anger, hurt, fear, just as the face that is my father opens the door.

"My, Edison? This is a surprise, isn't it?"

"Yeah, a surprise to myself too." I scoff, He frowns.

"What can I help you with?" He asks, causing me to huff angrily. But just as I am about to explode, I remind myself to stay calm.

"I wanted to talk to you about the whole… y'know _dad_ situation."

"Yes, I figured as much, but I needed you to come out and say it first." He explains. "Now to know exactly what you are asking me." I nod, and receive his full attention.

"Let's start off with an easy question." I suggest. He nods curtly. "Did you know that I was coming here?" Of course I was curious, no one really knew if Richard had 'figured it out.'

"Well, not really." He frowns. "Your mother had emailed me a few months back, telling me that there had been talk amongst you two about myself. But then I got the application and it was confirmed."

"Okay… so why didn't you tell me? As soon as I got here, I mean." He looks like he has to think about it, but then answers with:

"I wasn't sure if you were ready. You had just moved to a new country, by choice, may I add, and that seemed overwhelming enough and wasn't sure if you could handle anything else." I look down. "But I was wrong. You were very much capable of taking care of yourself." I look up, and smile at him. He returns it.

"Alright, why did you leave?" My heart pounds as the words leave my mouth, and he doesn't even have to think about it, like he's been practicing what to say for years.

"Your mother and I, we just didn't match. Soon enough we began arguing and I could tell that it was hurting her when we did, so I left."

"And you thought that leaving was the right answer? That it would be better than talking with her? Plus, you also seem to think that if you left it wouldn't hurt her. Well guess what, you were wrong!" I say furiously.

"I know, and I am ashamed for that matter, really. But I felt that we should both move on with our lives." He explains. I just sat there, dumbfounded. I didn't have a clue what to think let alone say! After a moment of thinking, I finally muster up the courage to respond.

"Well you left me, too. With a depressed mother and now some over the top stepfather." I whisper, and his face softens.

"You don't like him?"

"Psh, not at all." I smirk. He chuckles.

"Well as I may be new at this father thing, I promise to try my best and not act like him." I laugh, and he grins. "And can we agree that whenever something is troubling you, that you can come to me?" I nod, beaming.

"Thanks, _Dad._" He nods, and pulls me in for a brief hug.

"So what's this I hear about you having a lady friend?"

* * *

A/N: Hi guy I have a new update schedule! From now on, I will be updating this story on Sundays and Thursdays! I finally finished writing it the other day, and now I'm prepared to update bi-weekly!

So, review? I love y'all.


	10. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

I had spent most of the morning talking with my dad. Believe me, the feeling was still foreign having someone to call dad. No, not step dad. But that was my next issue. I hadn't quite figured out what part of my life was next to tackle. I mean, sure, everything had finally worked out with my dad, but for some reason I had a feeling that this was only the beginning, and that I had just gone through the easy part.

After I came back to the house, I was bombarded by questions, mostly from Patricia. "How did it go? Did he bug out? Did_ you_ bug out?" I laugh, shaking my head. We go to my room, and are surprised to see Fabian not there.

"No, we sorted everything out, and we talked." I explained.

"Oh, so that's what took you so long." I nodded.

"He asked about you." I blurted.

"What? Why!?" She asked, astounded. I laughed.

"I'm not sure; apparently he heard it from around school. Seems like we've already got rumors going around Yacker." She rolls her eyes but sends a smile. "So, we've yet to go on a proper date."

"We went to the New Year's party." She opposed.

"Yes, but with the rest of the house, and we were kind of required to, so it doesn't count. So how we go to dinner sometime?"

"Eh, I'm not the best with restaurants." She admits, flushing. I grin.

"We'll see about that."

I run my finger over the call button, debating whether I can press it or not. My mom's phone number has already been entered into the dial pad, and now all I need to press is one button. If only it were that simple…

Before I know it, I hear the phone ringing and I felt my heart stop. It was almost about to go to voicemail when a voice picks up. "Hello?"

"Mom? It's Eddie." I say breathlessly.

"Eddie! You need to help me! They've kidnapped me, and they're set out for you next, you have to-" Next thing I heard was a scream, and the phone dropping to the floor. But I didn't hang up, I just wouldn't. I held my breath, and fell silent on the other line. Next thing I heard was movement.

"Hello Edison." I gulped. It definitely wasn't Richard's voice, or one that I recognized.

"You let my mom go. She hasn't done anything to you."

"Correct, and we will not do anything to her as long as she cooperates." I let out a heavy sigh.

"What do you want with her? As far as I'm aware, I don't even know you."

"No, you don't. But I know you, and your secret. I'll give you time, not enough, but time to fix the mess you've made. I highly suggest obeying my orders, Edison." And with that, he's hung up. A shiver runs down my spine, and I run a hand through my hair.

I discovered a few hours later what direction I needed to start off in, but it was a risky path. I glanced over at Fabian as he entered the room. "What?" He asks as I continue to stare at him. I feel my heart race about one hundred miles per hour.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you to not play any games with me here. I know that you know who I am. And I know who you are. Thing is, I don't want to be who I am." He eyes me carefully, and I get his full focus.

"What are you playing at _Sweet?_" I grimace.

"Don't call me that." I grit through my teeth, causing him to smirk. "Listen, I don't want to be a part of The Society, but I'm forced to so my mom can stay safe. I'm not the bad guy here, Richard is." I explain, and he nods.

"I know about your mission, that's why I have been keeping my eye on you. So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that if I'm taking The Price Society down, I'll need your help." He nods, and extends his hand. I take it gladly, and we begin to discuss strategies. "Wait, so does Patricia know about _anything_?" He shakes his head no.

"I mean, of course we're stepbrother and sister but I haven't been allowed to tell anyone." He explains.

"What about your brothers and sisters?" I question.

"They know. Once they turn thirteen, they are allowed to begin training." He explains.

"But that means that before we get things started, we're going to have to tell Patricia." Realization floods over me, and I begin to panic.

"Me? No way. You-"

"No, not just me. I'm not the only one who's been keeping secrets from her." I stiffen.

Fabian and I find ourselves standing face to face with Patricia's door the next morning. We had practically spent the whole night discussing bout what to do. "You knock." I nudge.

"No you." He whispers back.

"Fabian, knock on the-"

"Hey!" Fabian and I chime with fake enthusiasm, as Patricia opens the door staring at us.

"Hey… what are you doing outside my door? Why are you even up here?" She questions. We glance nervously at each other. "You know what, whatever, I probably won't care." Once she walks off, we breathe a sigh of relief and instantaneously begin scheming again.

Patricia sits down in between Fabian and I at the breakfast table, leaving us little to no time to discuss anything. I spend the day _way _too caught up in my thoughts that Mrs. Valentine has to check on me to make sure I'm paying attention. I manage to convince her I am.

Later, in my dad's class, I once again found myself not paying attention. But this time, I was passing notes with Patricia.

_How about we get around to that date later? ;)_

She rolls her eyes, but manages to scribble back a short reply.

_Sure, just let me check my schedule first._

I scoff, and turn to see her smirking at me. I laugh.

_Mhm, sure. I'll pick you up in your room around seven then?_

_It's a date Slimeball_

Later that evening, I stand in front of the mirror, wearing a simple black tee shirt and a blue button up top over it. My hair is side swept as usual, and I look around to see if I am forgetting anything. "Here." Says Fabian, placing my brown leather cuff in my hand. "Patricia likes things like that, trust me." I nodded, slipping it around my wrist.

Before I know it, I am upstairs waiting for Patricia, and she comes out just minutes after. I smile. "Hey."

"Hey. So where are we going?" She asks.

"That is for me to know, and for you to find out." I grin, leading her down the stairs. She rolls her eyes, but gladly follows. We walk out the door of the house hand-in-hand, and I take her down a trail. "Now, I know I promised you a restaurant, but I've heard about history of beverage dumping." I joke, causing her to laugh.

A few feet away is a candle-lit picnic, full of her favorite foods. She gasps and her eyes light up, tugging on my arm. We sit down, as I pour her drink, and we begin to snack. "How did you know what food I like?" She questions curiously.

"I have my resources." I answer. She raises her eyebrows, but goes back to her meal. I take a bite out of a brownie, savoring the flavor.

"So do you like it her in England?" She asks.

"Well, the weather sucks." I state, causing her to give a slight laugh. "And it's weird, because sometimes people's accents are too strong, and I can't understand them." She rolls her eyes, and takes a sip of her drink. "What about ,you?"

"Me? Well I've lived in England my whole entire life, so I'm pretty used to the weather." She jokes.

"I meant tell me more about your life. Interests, favorites, past memories…" I suggest.

"Well I'm not really sure about the first two things, but maybe I can tell you a few Anubis memories."

_Patricia walked up the steps of Anubis house, ready to start her first day at the school. Her dad held her hand, guiding her. Earlier that morning, she had already said goodbye to her twin sister, Piper that morning. Mr. Williamson had decided that a few both of his daughters should attend boarding school. Patricia, to Ra International and Piper to Ludwig International, a school for musical prodigies. Ever since his wife, Johanna, had passed away, he thought that it would be best for the girls._

_"Are you ready Patricia? You're eleven now, and officially old enough to go to school here. I bet you're going to make lots of friends." Encouraged her father. _

_"What if they don't like me?" A nervous Patricia asks, clutching onto her father more than ever. _

_"They're going to love you, pumpkin." He called her by her favorite nickname, which she was given by her mother at the age of four. "Besides, everyone's new here, just like you. So you'll fit in just great." _

_"Alright. I guess I will. When will I see you again?"_

_"In two weeks, at Prospective Parents Day." He nods, ruffling her hair. Patricia fixes it quickly. "I have to go now; I'm expecting a business call. I'll see you in two weeks, okay?" And with that, he was gone. _

_Patricia nervously walked through the house. And the minute she did, she was sprayed with some sort of silly string. "Hey doofus! What was that for?" She scoffed, looking at the African-American, and a boy with big hair._

_"Tough luck- what's your name?"_

_"Patricia."She raises her eyebrows at them._

_"Patricia huh? Eh, I'm not gonna remember that. How about Trixie?" _

_"If you call me Trixie, will you knock it off with the pranks as long as we live here together?"_

_"Deal." He agrees._

"That's how you met Alfie and Jerome? Sounds exciting." I laugh, as she finishes her story.

"Yeah, it was." She chuckles.

"So I've noticed that all of you here aren't normal teenagers…" I start off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She challenges.

"Well, first off, you're always doing something. You guys can never just sit down and watch TV or something."

"That's not true!" She imposes. "Believe it or not, I did watch TV the other day."

"Oh really? What did you watch?" She looks down, and I see her cheeks flush.

"The news." She murmurs. "It was actually pretty interesting. There was a story about some foreigner, who moved to England, and he was a part of some mob or something, and he is supposed to kill some girl, because their fathers are enemies." And as soon as she said that, my throat ran dry. My eyes widen, and I could feel my heart beating through my chest. "Are you okay?" I nod slowly, thinking about how this would be the best and worst moment to tell her.

"Wow, that's…something alright." She shakes her head. "Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I'm the foreigner."

"Nice try Slimeball, I think I'd know if you were a criminal." _Criminal,_ that stung.

"Patricia, I'm being serious. My dad moved away, and once he did, my mom got remarried to a guy named Richard, who is the leader of that mob. It's actually called The Society. He forces me to do these tasks that usually end up in death." I blurt out. I wave my hand in front of her face, waiting for a reaction.

"Suddenly this doesn't sound like a joke anymore." I hear her whisper. "B-but that means, I'm the girl, and you're here to kill me."

"No, Patricia, that's not-"

"Get away from me you creep!" She shouts at the top of her lungs, running back to the house. I quickly chase after her.

I manage to catch up to her enough so that I'm only about 10 feet behind her, and chase her straight down to Fabian and I's room. When I open the door, she is cradled in Fabian's arms. "He's a criminal Fabian! He's part of some mob that kills people and-"

"I know, Patricia. He's a part of The Price Society." Patricia's jaw drops in disbelief. "And I'm a part of The Rutter Society."

"Y-you mean that you've been hiding this from me? The whole time I've known you, Fabian?"

"Patricia, I had to. It was-"

"I don't want to hear it! You lied to me! I thought that we were brother and sister, but I guess I was wrong." Her voice calms down now, and neither Fabian nor I speak. "I hate you. _Both of you._" Then with that, she's walked out of the room, completely broken. And when I go to bed that night, only three words run in my mind:

_I hate you._


	11. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

I woke up early the next morning, thinking about what to do with Patricia. Fabian was no help, but then we came to the realization of something. She could easily go to someone with a high enough authority and tell them everything, and both of us would get caught, and probably imprisoned for the rest of our lives. Not a good thought.

Fabian and I walked into the dining room to spot Patricia not there. We shared fearful glances. "Hey Trudy? Have you seen Patricia this morning?" Fabian asked.

"Sorry dears, I haven't. She might have head out early this morning though." She suggests, causing everyone at the table to laugh. I sighed in defeat, but decided that it was worth a try.

We arrived at school, and there was unfortunately no sign of Patricia, but we couldn't say we expected much. Fabian and I took a seat at a desk during first class, and began discussing what our next plan is. My dad then entered the room. "Excuse me miss, may I borrow Mr. Miller and Mr. Rutter?" We exchanged glances, but grabbed our bags and headed to his office.

"There is someone here to see you both." He explains, and I turn to see a tall man with dark brown hair staring at us. My dad leaves the room. I give the man a confused look, while Fabian just smiles. "Hey, Mike." They share a hug, while I am just left awestruck. "Right, Eddie you're probably confused. This is my step dad, _Patricia's dad_, and the leader of our society." I gulp, and shake the man's hand.

"Fabian has told me about you. At first it wasn't so pleasant, but it increased." He grins. I give a nervous laugh.

"Wait why are you here?" Fabian asks him.

"Well, we're taking you home. Both of you."

"What!?" I gasp.

"Yes, and Eddie, there's someone at my home who would like to see you." I nod, thinking it's probably Patricia, and that her dad calmed her down.

* * *

We arrive at the house. It seems like a normal townhouse at first, way off in the middle of nowhere. We pull up, and there is a guy that parks the car for us. "Uh, Mr. Williamson, what are we doing here?"

"You'll see, Eddie. And please call me Mike." He smiles. We enter the house, and in the first room is the den. A simple brown couch, and a few chairs are spread out through the room. "Patricia!" He yells.

"What? I'm busy!" You can hear her voice from the air duct below. I give a small laugh.

"Get up here! Fabian's here!" He yells, and we hear footsteps running up the stairs.

"Why is he- Oh, you're here too." I frown at her, while she shoots me a 'sorry' look. "My dad explained everything to me, don't worry. I'm sorry for overreacting." She apologizes.

"Don't worry about it." I assure her. She sends me a soft smile, then comes over to me and intertwines our fingers.

"Normally I would threaten any boy that's with my daughter, but if you ever tried to hurt her, she would most likely kill you before I even knew." Mike jokes, causing Fabian to laugh and Patricia to grin. "Well like I said before, there is someone here to see you."

"You mean it's not Patricia?" I ask confused. And next thing I know, the woman short with light blonde hair and brown eyes that I know as my mother has appeared before me. "Mom?" I ask cautiously. She nods. I let go of Patricia's hand, and run over and hug my mom.

"I've missed you so much." She whispers, stroking my hair.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I thought that they were going to try and kill me. Or you. But it turns out they were just trying to help." She explains.

"So why did someone threaten me over the phone?"

"Well, that was me. I needed you to come clean and tell Fabian so he could trust you. Looks like my plan has worked perfectly." I nod slowly.

"Does that mean she knows everything? About the societies?" I ask. I turn to my mom, and she has a confused look on her face.

"We though that you should be here to help tell the story." Mike whispers, and I let my mom sit down.

After an hour of explaining, story telling, tears and questions, we finally manage to get my mom to understand everything that has happened over the years. I couldn't explain the amount of guilt I felt the entire time. "Oh honey, I am so sorry."

"It's fine." I choke. "You couldn't have done anything." Patricia and Fabian shoot me a look of sympathy.

"So what now?" Fabian chimes.

"Well, Eddie, your mom will stay here. All three of you will, and we'll be pulling you out of school. You will train over the next few weeks, as I'm assuming that Richard will send people over here. Then the war begins. I have team members that are willing to help, but I knew that you three would want to be involved." I nod, gulping.

"So what will happen to Richard?" Patricia asks.

"He will either be placed in an international prison, or he will be killed." I look at Patricia, who by this time has turned pale. I rub her hand soothingly. "Why don't you all rest, you look very tired. Fabian can show you to your room, Eddie." As he's been told, I follow Fabian into the basement. I am shocked when I see how big it is.

"This right here? Believe me, it's nothing." He enters a pass code into the system, and a door slides open. Patricia is already behind us. "How's it feel to be home?" He asks her.

"Good, I guess. Oh who am I kidding, our bedrooms are all locked up now, we have to train, and I don't like this at all." She sighs.

"Hey, it'll be okay. Once we get rid of Richard, we can go back to living our normal lives, okay?" I offer. She nods. She goes to her room, which from what I can see is deep purple with black and white accents.

"Do you think Piper's okay?" She asks. Fabian and I enter her room, him taking a seat beside her.

"I'm sure she's fine, as is Mom." I totally forgot about that. Where was Fabian's mom?

"I hope so." She mumbles.

"Alright look, we'll ring them tomorrow, and then we'll ask dad if we can bring them home, okay?" He offers.

"Okay. I'm going to take a nap, so out with the both of you!" She calls, causing us both to laugh.

We begin to walk down the long hallway, until we reach my room. He opens the door, and inside the deep blue painted room is a simple wooden bed, with a dresser to match. "Is this to your liking?" He jokes with a French accent. I laugh.

"It's fine. We start training tomorrow, right?" I ask.

"Yeah. You and I should be fine. It's Patricia I'm worried about." He admits.

"I am too. I'm also kind of surprised that she took everything this well. Mike must be a miracle worker." I joke.

"Maybe." He grins. "Just make sure you watch over her tomorrow, yeah?" I nod, as he closed the door.

And I would.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so major setting change. I actually just finished writing the story, and want to know: sequel? Because if you guys wait too long to tell me, I won't have it up for at least like two months. So, opinion? I have like four chapters after this to post, and then that's it. I've been taking a bit of a break beacuse I haven't felt good, but I think I'll go write more now. Review?


	12. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

I next day we began training. The three of us were all dressed in black tight bodysuits, waiting in an empty room. Patricia seemed to be the most nervous. Fabian and I just sat there waiting. A door slams, and both a man and woman enter the room. The woman has fiery red hair, a piercing blue eyes, and isn't that tall. The guy on the other hand is six foot, with brown spiked hair. They both look to be in their mid-twenties. "Hello Fabian. Good to see you again." He greets. Fabian shakes his hand.

"And I'm assuming that you two are Patricia and Eddie, it's a pleasure." The woman speaks. "This is Brian and I'm Mali."

"Today we are going to start off with some simple exercises. Some basic blocking, procedures, and possibly some weaponry. We will split up into two groups for now. I'll go with Patricia, and then the boys can stick together." She instructs. I watch as Patricia timidly walks up to her. I send her a reassuring smile, as they walk to a different section of the room.

"Okay!" Brian claps. "I guess that we'll start with strategizing. This means watching the other person, and picking up their strategies. Watch." He has Fabian approach him, and he places his right foot forward." And in a split second they are throwing punches, kicks, and spinning all over the place. But Fabian manages to take him down, pinning him against the wall. My mouth falls open. "See. Fabian could tell what I was going to do, so he knew how to block it."

* * *

The next few hours are exhausting, but I think we all managed to get through, even Patricia. "Eddie?" Mike's voice calls from the den. I walk to see him standing there with a worried look on his face.

"What is it?" I ask concerned. "What's wrong Mike?"

"It's, it's your dad. Richard's gottten to him. They've taken him over to America." He blurts out. It takes a minute to register everything that has happened, but I eventually manage to.

"What?" It comes out a question of disbelief at first, but I know that if I say anything more my tone will change to anger.

"Eddie... are you okay?" He asks me carefully. My jaw drops.

"Are you kidding me? I finally just got my mom back after I thought she was kidnapped, I'm going to battle my stepfather who has just taken my real dad. Do you think I'm okay!?" I shout, anger seething through me. I expected him to look a bit hurt, but his face remains normal.

"You're right, I'm sorry. But what I need you to do is focus on training before something else happens, and let me take care of it. Can you promise me you'll do that?" I think a bit before answering with a soft 'yes.'

I avoided everyone for the rest of the day. Patricia, Fabian, even my mom. It was odd, because inside I felt like I needed to talk to someone, yet I knew if I did that I would just end up shouting at them. Mike didn't really talk to me much either. He checked up on me once or twice, but that was about it.

"Hey." I here a voice say, and turn around to see Patricia. I give a soft smile. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I mutter. She gives me a look. "No..." I sigh.

"What's wrong?" She asks, taking her hands in mine and rubbing my palms wiht her fingertips.

"My dad."

"Is he mad at you for leaving school? Because I can have my dad call and-"

"Richard." And when I speak, she completely stops. Her hands, her voice, and I swear that she's not breathing. "He got my dad. And took him to America."

"Eddie-"

"He could be being tortured at this very moment, Patricia." I choke. "It's all my fault."

"No, Eddie! Not it's not."

"Don't bother lying to me. I can over here, got you, him, and my mom involved in the mess that is my life, and it's putting you in danger. I can't stand to think what I would do if any of you got hurt, knowing it was my fault."

"But it's not Eddie! And that's what you're not understanding!" She raises her voice a little. "None of this is our fault. Is it your fault that you had a nad childhood? No. Is it your fault that you were forced in The Society? No. And was it your fault that Richard has basically fucked up you life? No!"

"I guess you're right..." I finally give in.

"Yeah, I am. And can you accept it?" She smiles.

"Maybe." I roll my eyes, as she grips my shoulders, and begins to shake them violently. "Ow! Patricia, stop it!"

"It's to get all the bad energy out of you, is it gone?" I give her a look, but decide to brush it off.

"Gone, hopefully not soon to return."

* * *

The next few days aren't as bad as I expected, especially after my little pep talk with Patricia. We mostly train. Today we all have a day off, Mali says that it's good for our muscles. I decided to spend it in my room, just relaxing and trying not to stress myself out. I have Sick puppies playing in the background faintly, and I am just about to take a nap when there is a knock at my door.

"Come in." I call bored.

"It's just me, no one exciting." Patricia teases as she walks in. I smile.

"Hey, not to be rude or anything but what are you doing here?" I ask. She sits down beside me on my bed.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" She suggests.

"Eh, I'm not sure. I'm kind of tired." I whine. She rolls her eyes.

"Fine, you big baby, we'll take a nap." And with that, she lies down beside me, as I wrap my arms around her waist, and we drift off into a relaxing sleep.

* * *

A/N: A bit of a short chapter, sorry. Review?


	13. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12_

The next two weeks are surprisingly quiet on Richard's part. No death or kidnapping threats; so far, anyway. After Mike feels that we've trained enough, he allows us to begin working with the threats and everything. We start watching over the Price Society's activity, and it's surprisingly been quiet. It'd starting to scare us a bit, because that only means that they are planning something big.

Right now I was sitting in the control room along with Fabian and Patricia. Fabian monitored the security cameras, while Patricia and I spent most of the time playfully shoving each other and me tickling her. "Would you two knock it off?" Fabian scolded. Patricia rolled her eyes, and then began poking at his sides. He slapped her hand away.

"Oh come on Fabian, stop being such a killjoy." She teases, and then ruffles his hair.

"Why don't you stop acting like such a child?" He raised his voice, taking us both aback.

"Dude, chill out; she was just trying to lighten the mood." I impose, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well excuse me, but unlike the two of you, I actually am trying to concentrate on my work."

"We are concen-" Patricia started, but Fabian cut her off.

"No you're not! You are just sitting there acting like an immature brat who can't comprehend that we are in a serious situation here." He yelled. Patricia stopped right there, and took a deep breath.

"Why are you flipping out on her!?" I was pretty angry now. "Just because you're so high strung doesn't mean it's her fault."

"I am not high strung!"

"You guys, stop-"

"Yes you are!" I shouted back. "I bet you get it from your father. But you wouldn't know, now would-"

"Don't you dare say anything about my father, because it's not like yours is any better! He _abandoned_ you, he-" But before he could say anything else, I pushed him up against the wall. Fabian threw a punch into my jaw, but I blocked it and kicked his ankle. He then threw a right hook into my stomach, and we both fell to the ground.

"ENOUGH!" Patricia cried. I saw that she had been sobbing. "What is wrong with you two? I understand that we're under a lot of stress but this is just pathetic."

"What's going on?" Asked Mike as he entered the room. Both Fabian and I looked at him wide-eyed.

"Nothing, nothing's going on. I'm going to head to my room for a while, kay?" Patricia responded, and then left before anyone else could say anything.

"I don't know what you boys did, but you'd better fix it."

Two hours later, I found myself face to face with Patricia door. I raised my hand, and softly knock against the wood. I ignored the pain that came shooting from my fist from the fight, and instead rocked on my heels.

"If it's one of the idiots, I don't want you here." Patricia voice called from the other side of the door in a bitter tone.

"I'm assuming that I'm one of the idiots?" I tried.

"You're assumption is correct." She muttered.

"Look, I'm sorry, like you said; we're all stressed out. And the thing with my dad isn't helping much either." I heard the latch click, and then the next thing I saw was Patricia. Her auburn curls were thrown up into a messy ponytail, and bags were beginning to form around her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your dad." She replied quietly. We wrapped our arms around each other, knowing that this was our symbol of forgiveness.

"It's okay. Everything is okay."

* * *

For the first time in a while, I am able to find myself able to sleep through the night. I wake up the next morning to the sound of panicked shouting and screaming. I rub my eyes, clearing my vision, and glance at the time; six forty-two. I groan, but manage to pull myself out from onto the covers and into a standing position. A shiver runs throughout my whole body when I step onto the freezing floor, and I curl my toes.

"Oh my god!" I hear from the hallway, and rush out to see a man in all black aiming a gun down the hall. He sees me, and before he can react, I've already disarmed him, pinning him to the wall.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I grit through my teeth. His eyes are stone cold, and surprisingly familiar. I pull his mask down to his chin. "Jason?" I am shocked enough that he has enough time to get away from my grasp and run down the hall.

I chase him, following him through the hallways and around corners. He doesn't have a weapon, but is still faster than I am. I manage to corner him in the control room, but am horrified once I see what has happened.

The controls are all shut off, so none of the security cameras are working. Patricia, Fabian, and Anna (Fabian's mom) were all being held by one of The Society members. Then across the room I saw Mike and Richard, face to face. All was silent except for the sound of deep breathing. "Richard, this is a pleasant surprise." Mike spat.

"I wish I could say the same." Richard raised his eyebrows at him, but no one has yet noticed me. I stayed hidden behind some of the training equipment. I carefully raiased my palm to press the emergency button, and Brian or Mali would come. It flashed red on the wall, and set off a silent alarm upstairs. Thankfully no one else in the control room noticed.

The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Mike and Richard walked circles around each other, glaring. If looks could kill, they would both be dead. "I heard that you've recruited my step-son." I took a deep breath.

"Possibly," was the only thing that Mike said. "I heard that you've taken his father."

"I am his father."

"Not in a million years." I gulped.

"Where is the rebel anyways? Eddie, come out come out wherever you are." Richard flashed a toothy grin. I took small steps towards the center of the room, keeping my eye on Patricia, adn then towards Richard. "Well, Edison. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is all yours." I repsonded, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I see that you've still got your cocky attitude. That's...nice." I planted my feet into the ground, and glanced at everyone that was being held back. Fabian held a broad look on her face, while Patricia only looked the slightest bit panicked. Anna just sat there with her eyes closed, and muttering quietly to herself. "Why don't we just settle this right now. You come back with me, we ignore The Rutter Society, and act like nothing ever happened. Deal?" I raised my eyebrows in astonishment.

"A deal? You're insane. After all the trouble you've caused in my life, you think that I would even consider going back to you, knowing how much of a pest you are." I raised my voice. "And what about my mother, huh?"

"What about her? She could join and become a servant to the rest of the high-class members."

"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that." I threaten. I throw myself at him, but Mike stops me.

"You're going to regret doing that, you know. Bring Ms. Williamson here." The Society member that was holding Patricia brought her to the center of the room, and threw her to the ground. As I tried to help her, Richard pushed me away, while the member now held back Mike instead.

"You let her go!" He shouted. Richard just shook his head in mock dissapointment, and had another one of his helpers come over to us. I looked around for a sign of Mali or Brian, but no one was there.

"Nah, I'm good." He cackled. Patricia was frozen, being held with an arm around her throat. "Now, I say that we should finish the mission right here. Edison," He handed me a knife- "you know what to do." I grasped the knife in my palm, and ran my index finger along the side of the blade.

I turned to Patricia, who now had tears in her eyes. Then with the last words, "I'm sorry," I threw the knife.

* * *

A/N: Whoa! Talk about a cliffy! Umm, I didn't like the beginning of this chapter, but it progressed towards the end. I had major writer's block, so it took me a few weeks before I satrted working on this story again.

Review?


	14. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

Richard cried out in pain as the knife plunged into his arm. Patricia fell from his grasp, and onto the floor. I quickly helped her to her feet, shoving her towards Anna, who had escaped from Richard's helpers along with Fabian. Anna gave her daughter a hug, and then both made their way upstairs to safety.

"That- that was insane." Fabian gasped as he made his way over to my side, ahanding me a weapon. I chuckled, and took it gratefully. Mike had Richard pinned to the blood-stained ground, while the rest of his helpers were somewhat scattered throughout the room.

I managed to take out two of Richard's goons, whilst Fabian took care of the rest. We watched both of the leaders battle it out, both gritting their teeth and digging their feet into the floor. A few punches, kicks, and scratches were exchanged until Richard completely threw Mike onto the floor, running away from him adnd upstairs. I quickly chased him, until he and the rest of the society members were outside of the house. They all ran at full-speed, and I knew that there was no way that I could catch them.

Fabian appeared beside me, panting. "They got away." I stated. He sighed, adn ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Mike will take care of them. You did a good job, by the way." He cracks a grin, and I just roll my eyes. I go down to the middle level, which is still located underground, where all of our rooms are. I go to Patricia's room, and find her curled up in her moms arms, sobbing. Anna notices me, and ushers me in.

"She's just a bit shaken up, that's all. You have to remember that all of this is new to her." She explains, and gives me a sympathetic smile. Anna leaves, closing the door behind her to go and talk with Fabian.

"Hey." I say softly. "You were so brave today."

"Not as brave as you." She whispers, wiping the tears from her face.

"How was I brave? I threw a weapon at a guy I don't like; amazing." I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You went against him. He told you to kill me, but instead you threw the knife at him." She explained, looking down in her lap.

"Did you think that I was actually going to listen to him?" I asked, curious. It was a fair question. Did she?

"Well, I don't know. Your original intentions were pretty scary." She admitted. I frowned. That was months ago, before I even knew her. There was a difference, right?

"I'm sorry about that. It's not exactly the easiest thing to apologize about trying to kill a person." She laughed. "Seriously though, if you ever want to talk to me about that, I'm here." She smiled at me, and then kissed my cheek.

Everyone was on edge the next few days, especially Mike. He had pulled extra security to bring back to the base. Also, he had barely been sleeping at night, so he was extra tough on us.

Patricia had calmed down a bit since then as well, but was still a little jumpy. Apparently Anna has been helping calm her, which is good.

"Eddie?" A voice calls from behind me. I turn to see Mike in the doorway. I motion him in, and h closes the door behind him.

"Yes boss?"

"Please, you don't have to call me boss." He chuckles, and I give a nervous laugh. "I was just thinking about how good you've been doing here, and would like to promote you to a higher rank."

"Wow." My eyes bulge. "Thank you, sir. It means a lot." I smile graciously, and shake his hand. He flashes a smile, and then exits. I shake my head to make sure this all wasn't a dream. Was it? It did all happen a bit too fast. But before I could think anymore, I had passed out from exhaustion.

_"Hello Eddie." A dream sequence voice said. It waws Patricia. I looked around, and everything was blurry. Her voice echoed._

_"Patricia? What's going on?" I asked. She just shook her head and laughed. I noticed that there were people off in the distance, but I couldn't make out their faces._

_Patricia began circling around me, placing one foot in front of the other equally. I just stood there, feet planted into the ground. She looked up as she walked, keeping the same pace. "Your dad is here." Was all that she said. I gave her an odd look. "We talked to him earlier. He said that it was a good thing that he had gotten taken when he did, wouldn't be able to handle being a father." I narrowed my eyes at her, as he expression remained the same. "That's probably why he left you."_

_"He had a good reason." I defended._

_"What was it? He needed to get away from you and your mother?" I felt my face begin to burn up, and all I heard was snickers from the background. "Please Eddie, he doesn't actually care about you. No one does."_

_"That's a lie. My mom cares about me, and so does my dad." She just smirked. "Okay, if you don't care about me then why are you with me?"_

_"Why am I with you? I'm with you so that don't kill me, of course. So that way I stay safe, and then Richard kills you; and your family." I huffed, but decided to stay quiet. Suddenly I noticed that I was chained to a wall. Shackles were wrapped around both my wrists and ankles, keeping me from moving no more than three feet. Patricia came up and started pulling the chains tighter. "I'll let you go; there's only one thing you have to do." I gulp, as she leads two people over to me._

_The two figures that are being dragged towards me are my parents. They are handcuffed behind their backs, and they look beaten. My moms hair flies in all different directions, and she can barely walk. "Mom, Dad." I manage to choke out, as someone hands me a gun._

_I turn to see Richard at my side, pressing a gun against my temple. I gulp. "All you have to do, is pull the trigger." He aims the gun in my hand towards my parents, whos eyes are begging with desperation. "Or I pull mine."_

_I lock the gun in place between my fingers, my index trembling on the trigger. I look at them. "Please," My mom mouths. "Don't hurt us." I lower my gun in defense, causing Richard to lock a bullet into place. I feel the click against my skull, and just as he is about to pull the trigger-_

"Eddie!" I wake up to someone shaking me- Fabian._ "Are_ you okay?" I rub my eyes, adrenaline pumping. I place my hand over my chest to feek my heart beating at an abnormally high rate.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream." I explain, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. He raises his eyebrows at me, and hands me a glass of water.

"Sounded like more of a nighmare." He gestures for me to explain, and I do. I tell him everything from Patricia insulting me, to me almost dying. "Wow." Is all Fabian says when I finish.

"Tell me about it." I mutter, taking another sip from the glass. I set it on the small wooden table beside my bed. He pats my shoulder, as we hear feet shuffling from the hallway. It sounds like Patricia's voice, so Fabian kindly tells her to come back later.

"There is way too much crap going on in our lives." He says, and we both just laugh.

* * *

A/N: I wasn't a big fan of how this ended, but oh well. What did you guys think? Why don't you tell me by clicking that button at the bottom and reviwing? :)


	15. Chapter 14- Last chapter guys!

_Chapter 14_

I woke up with a jolt that morning, which was odd considering that everything was perfectly normal; at least as normal as it could be. I looked at my clock- 6:04. The bright green numbers continued to flash as I pulled myself out of bed. I felt like there was a bottomless pit in my stomach, and I knew exactly why- something was going to happen today. Ever since I was younger, I had gotten nausea when something bad was about to happen.

Last night, we had gotten a ransom note sent to the base. Basically it stated that we could trade my dad for Patricia, and all of us were against the idea. But I think we all knew who the note was from: Richard. He had his ways of knowing what was going on, and it bothered me.

He always seems to know what we're doing, or where we're going, and it's one of our few weaknesses. But the point is that Richard is about to strike, and we're about to finish this whole thing.

I went into the hallway, and saw that the lights were flickering on and off. It was deserted, with numerous papers covering the floor. I ran my fingers over the cracks in the walls, and just listened to the silence. I make my way upstairs, into where everyone is hopefully resting safely.

But when I arrive upstairs I am anything but correct. Furniture has been tossed throughout the room, shattered glass is on the couch, and there is not a single person in sight. "Hello?" I call out. There is no sign of anyone, even Anna. I feel like I just woke up after an apocalypse, with everyone else not existing. I am just about to panic when I see a note taped onto the wall. In sleek, perfect handwriting it reads:

_I have them._

I didn't even have to wonder who 'them' was, considering everyone was basically gone. On the backside, 'meet me at seven o'clock,' was scribbled, and my heart began racing. What was I supposed to do? Face Richard alone? He has everyone, and I'm just a teenage guy. Today was really not my day.

By the time it was six-thirty, I was loaded with guns, hand grenades, and other weapons that would probably remain useless. I had ended up taking some pills to calm my nerves, but even those didn't work. I laced up my combat boots, and began walking down the dirt road. I didn't need to know where I was going; Richard would automatically be there.

I walked for about another ten minutes before I was stopped by a distant figure: Richard. "Hello Edison." He smirked. I kept a straight face, fingering a dagger beneath my shirt. All of my weapons were concealed somewhere in my body, including backups in my boots. "How nice of you to show up today."

He took a few steps forward, as did I, until we were eye to eye. I looked around for any sign of anyone; Patricia, Mike, Fabian, but there was not a single breath to be heard.

"What did you do with them?" I kept my voice strong, broadening my shoulders. He just shook his head, gritting a toothpick between his teeth. "Tell me."

"Why don't we go for a walk?" He suggests, gesturing me forward with his left hand. I notice that he keeps his right hidden in his pocket, probably grasping a weapon. I nod cautiously, and take a small step forward. He follows behind me, and I swear that I hear him speaking into a small microphone.

Richard leads me to an abandoned shack, and inside I am faced with a familiar face- Vera. Vera has been a long term member of The Society, and has been ever since she started hating my mom in high school. I don't know the full back story, but it was always weird when my mom talked about her.

"Hi Vera." I say awkwardly. She gives her usual fake smile, and returns with a 'hello Edison.' Everyone in The Society always called me by my full name when I was in trouble or on one of their bad sides, but other than that it was always Eddie.

I am led down a path of concrete stairs, which go underground. The air is musky, and the walls are covered in mold. I close my eyes and inhale deeply before reaching the bottom, and am frozen with the sight I come to see as I open my eyes.

Across the room sit Fabian, Mike, Patricia and Anna. They are all handcuffed to chairs with gags over their mouths. I am too shocked to say anything, so I just stay silent.

It pains me when I look left, and spot my parents in the same positon as everyone else. Looks of worry and pain fill their eyes, and I mouth an apology to them.

"Would you look at that! It's a family reunion!" Richard's voice calls from behind, and I just roll my eyes. I walk over to Fabian and Patricia, and stand behind them. I see that they are not only tied up with rope, but chains. It feels like the nightmare, only this time it's real. Plead dances in her eyes, and I swear that I see a tear stream down her cheek. "I wouldn't bother trying to release them, it won't work."

"Wouldn't think of it." I call back sarcastically, and Jason, who has just entered the room, cackles. I pull out the dagger that was in my pocket and place it between Patricia's chained hands. "It's a poisonous." I whisper to her, and she nods. Poison daggers can cut through any kind of chain, considering they react to the metal.

"Now. Let's get everything sorted." Richard claps his hands together, causing a cloud of dust to fill the air. Mike coughs beneath his gag, and I see that he is loosening it. Fabain just seems to sit there, zoned out. Anna looks panicked, but tries to remain calm. "I want you people out of my way, and it would've worked if Edison here would have just followed the instructions." He sneers, and motions towards Vera to continue.

"We have come up with a decision." The four members, including Rufus Zeno, all glance hastily at one another. "The Rutter Society retires, leaving Price to become leader in the system." As yes, the system- basically, it was just a track record of all the societies in the world, and what their ranking is.

I turn to Mike, who has been released from his gag to respond. He thinks for a moment, but then speaks up. "Fine." I look at him in astonishment. "We will accept your offer to retire."

"And, one more thing," Richard chimes. "This one-" He points to me, "Gone." My eyes widen, as does everyone else's, and I begin to panic.

"Not at all with that be possible." Mike retorts in a firm voice.

"Considering your position, all offers are non-negotiable." Rufus says in s sing-song voice.

"But-"

"I accept." I say, and close my eyes to breathe for a moment. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe I wasn't really about to get executed in front of everyone. Maybe I never really came over to England, joined any societies, or met my father. I think that all these maybes were turning into wishes.

"What! Eddie, no-" Mike chokes. Patricia slips out of her gag, and begins to hypervenilate.

"Eddie." She whispers.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, just like I did last time when I was thought to throw the dagger at her. Richard pulls out a gun from his pocket, and clicks a bullet into place. I stand straight, hands placed firmly behind my back. I can hear Patricia faintly sobbing along with Anna, while Fabian just nods at me. I turn back to face Richard. I see his hand squeeze the trigger, hear a loud bang, and feel a pain in my chest. But that is the last thing I feel before I collapse to the ground, and my vision falls dark.

* * *

All is silent as I fall to the ground. My bullet-proof vest shields me from any injury, yet I remain on the ground. A muffled sob escapes Patricia's mouth, and she shrieks in horror. I don't need sight to tell that Richard is grinning madly right now. "Alright, now that the boy is gone; get rid of the rest of them too. I only made that stupid promise so he wouldn't cause anything." I hear Richard scoff, and try my best to keep from clenching my fists.

I pop on eye open, and see that he is within arms length. I peer into the dark room, but cannot see much from the floor. Patricia struggles against Jason as he drags her over to Richard. I spot the shape of a dagger in her back pocket, which is concealed beneath her shirt. Richard holds a gun against her temple, and his other arm rests upon her waist. I feel anger boil up inside of me as I stretch out my arm, and yank his ankle as hard as I can.

Apparently it startles him, because he drops the gun to the floor, and falls to his knees. I help Patricia up, as she reaches for the dahher and throws it towards Vera. Catching her by surpirse, it hits her square in the stomach, staining her shirt crimson. She cries out in pain, until she is doubled over next to Rufus. He drags her to the side, but is too late to escape because Fabian already has him pinnsed against the wall. I see that Mike has escaped, adn is battling it out with Jason.

Before Richard can stand up, Patricia and I have tackled him to the ground. He yelps in pain, as I reach into my pocket and pull put a needle. It is filled with knockout serum, similar to what I drugged Patricia with earlier. I press the cold needle against his skin, and inject it into his neck. He stirs for a few seconds, then eventually falls unconcious. I pass out some more to Fabian and Mike, who each inject the rest of the members. As soon as they are taken care of, Mike rushes over to Anna, engulfing her in a hug. I do the same to Patricia, and she just lets out a sigh.

We all fall silent, and watch our visible breath as it fills the room. "So what now?" Fabain asks. I tuck Patricia's hand in mine, warming both of us.

"We wait." Mike answers.

"For what?" Patricia whispers.

"Hope."

* * *

A/N: Well, that was it. The last chapter. I don't really know what to say. This is my first time technically finishing a multi-chap wiht full effort, ahead of time and it feels great. So now I'm wondering. Sequel or not? If so, I would have probably written it before you are reading this right now, and it should be posted soon. But we'll have to wait and see.

So, review? Sequel?


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